Statistical Frequency Analysis Research Articles

Urinary N-telopeptide: The New Diagnostic Test for Osteoporosis.

Context Osteoporosis is a silent disease until it is complicated by trivial fall fractures. There is an increasing interest within the orthopaedic community in the noninvasive cost-effective measurement of the bone mineral density. Aims The aim of the study is to assess whether urinary N-telopeptide level can be a new diagnostic tool in diagnosing osteoporosis. Methods and Material This prospective study was done at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre (SRMC) hospital from October 2015 to October 2017. The study was conducted among patients who comes to SRMC as inpatient or outpatient with suspected osteoporosis and underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan and urinary N-telopeptide. The inclusion criteria were women aged 65 or older, women aged less than 65 with risk factors, younger postmenopausal women with one or more risk factors, men aged 70 or older, men less than 70 with risk factors, and any above group patients who comes within 24 hours following trivial fall fractures. The exclusion criteria were pathological fracture, history of any illness affecting bone metabolism. The results from DXA scan were taken as gold standard against urinary N-telopeptide. Then the patients were divided into two groups control and study. The control group contains patients who had normal DXA, while study group contains patients having either osteopenia or osteoporosis. Based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria, 110 persons were included in the study. We had 60 study and 50 controls patients. We had 88 females and 22 males. The results obtained were statistically analyzed. Statistical Analysis Used The collected data were analyzed with IBM SPSS statistics software 23.0 version. To describe about the data descriptive statistics frequency analysis, percentage analysis was used for categorical variables and the mean and standard deviation were used for continuous variables. To find the significant difference between the bivariate samples in independent groups, the unpaired sample t -test was used. To find the significance in categorical data, chi-square test was used. In both the earlier statistical tools, the probability value of 0.05 is considered as significant level. Results In our study, we had 18.2% osteopenic and 36.4% osteoporotic patients. The mean value of urinary N-telopeptide in control was 49.8 and in case was 182.5. The standard deviation of urinary N-telopeptide value in case was 159.9. Conclusion Urinary N-telopeptide can give reproducible results and be able to assist in the evaluation of the quantity as well as the quality and be a good judge of someone's risk of fracture. Hence, urinary N-telopeptide can be used as a diagnostic tool for diagnosing osteoporosis.

The Understanding of the Derivative Concept in Higher Education

The aim of this work was to identify and characterize the levels of development of derivative schema. In order to do so, a questionnaire to 103 university students with previous instruction in Differential Calculus was applied. The questionnaire was composed of three tasks. For the identification of the levels of development of schema and their subsequent characterization, we consider the framework proposed by the APOS theory. In particular, this framework was operationalized through the establishment of 27 variables that allowed for the breakdown of the resolution protocols from the questionnaire into discrete elements. In this way, we obtained a vector associated with each of these variables. The identification of students assigned to each level of development of schema was carried out by a cluster analysis. Subsequently, we performed a statistical analysis of frequencies and implicative, with the 27 variables, which allowed to characterize the levels of development identified.

How does brand-related user-generated content differ across social media? Evidence reloaded

In light of the relevant changes in the social media environment in recent years, this paper extends the theoretical framework of user-generated content (UGC) dimensions and updates evidence on how brand-related UGC characteristics vary across social media. Using content analysis and statistical analysis of frequencies, we compare how different social media (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) shape twelve important UGC dimensions. Our findings suggest that, by flattening the differences on visual and richer content, the recent trends have made Facebook and Twitter more similar to YouTube on certain brand-related UGC dimensions (e.g., self-presentation, brand centrality, brand recommendation). Moreover, by amplifying the differences related to the real-time and ubiquitous sharing of increasingly richer content, the recent trends have favored the emergence of other brand-related UGC characteristics (e.g., location sharing, sharing while purchasing/using the brand, brand connection with personal experience, response to advertising campaign) more prominently on Facebook and Twitter than on YouTube.

Analyzing the Issue of On-street Parking in Commercial Areas: A Case Study of the City of Hyderabad, Pakistan

In developing countries, rapid urbanization has created an enormous pressure on land use, infrastructure and transportation. The fast growing ratio of motorized vehicles in urban areas is the main cause of environmental degradation. Almost 80% of the greenhouse gas emission is from vehicles in cities. In the city centers, on-street parking is considered the major cause of traffic congestion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the problems of on-street parking and disorderly parking at Central Business District (CBD) of Hyderabad city. The field survey methodology was adopted to perceive the current traffic problems in the city center and traffic count survey was carried out in both peak and off hours. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics frequency analysis technique with the help of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings revealed that increasing number of vehicles, on-street parking, improper parking, encroachment, inadequate parking space and poor condition of roads are the main causes of traffic congestion. The study bridges up the research gap of determining public views about on-street parking challenges in the context of Hyderabad, Pakistan and provides statistical results which may equally be adapted by policy makers and transportation planners in order to improve the traffic situation.

Reduction of nosocomial bloodstream infections and nosocomial vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium on an intensive care unit after introduction of antiseptic octenidine-based bathing

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) is emerging in German intensive care units (ICUs). On a 32-bed surgical ICU at a university hospital, increasing numbers of nosocomial cases occurred despite enforcement of hand hygiene and environmental disinfection. To introduce universal octenidine-based bathing in order to reduce the burden of VRE. Between January 2012 and March 2014, patients were screened for VRE on admission and twice weekly. Active surveillance was undertaken for VRE infections and colonizations, and for bloodstream infections (BSI) with any pathogen. Intervention in this before-after study comprised of standardized octenidine-based bathing. Distinct subgroups of VRE colonizations or infections were defined and used for statistical analysis of frequency, prevalence and incidence density. In the pre-intervention period (January 2012 to April 2013), the admission prevalence of VRE was 4/100 patients and the mean incidence density of nosocomial cases was 7.55/1000 patient-days (PD). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed prevalence of three vanA and two vanB clusters. In the post-intervention period (August 2013 to March 2014), the admission prevalence of VRE was 2.41/100 patients and the mean incidence density of nosocomial cases was 2.61/1000 PD [P=0.001 (pre- vs post-intervention)]. Thirteen nosocomial VRE infections were identified in the pre-intervention period, compared with one nosocomial VRE infection in the post-intervention period. Incidence densities of BSI pre- and post-intervention were 2.98 and 2.06/1000 PD (P=0.15), respectively. The epidemiology of emerging VRE appeared as a complex mix of admitted cases and transmissions in small clusters, challenging infection control measures. The implementation of universal octenidine-based bathing combined with a standardized washing regime led to a significant reduction in nosocomial VRE.

Walking to recovery: the effects of missed ambulation events on postsurgical recovery after bowel resection.

Early ambulation after surgery is demonstrated to reduce complications and decreases patient length of stay (LOS) as part of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program. This study hypothesizes that missed and refused ambulation attempts prolong patient LOS. From January 2014 to December 2016, all patients admitted to one ward who had undergone bowel resection surgery were assigned a dedicated ambulation team with the goal of ambulating 3 times per day. Clinical data was collected prospectively. Statistical analysis of ambulation frequency, percentage of ambulation sessions completed and overall LOS was performed to test the hypothesis. A total of 127 patients were analyzed for mean age, breakdown of laparoscopic/open procedures/pre-surgery ambulation status. The median LOS (mLOS) for all patients was 4.3 days. When ambulation was not offered for a 24-hour period, the mLOS increased from 3.6 to 6.6 days (P<0.001). When a patient refused to ambulate at any time, the mLOS increased from 4.0 to 4.7 days (P=0.004). There was a significant association between completed ambulation attempts and mLOS (r=-0.536, P<0.001). Increasing narcotic use (r=0.548, P<0.001) including the use of a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) (r=0.213, P=0.011) increased mLOS. Ambulation participation is a critical component of an enhanced bowel resection pathway. Non-compliance is associated with an increased LOS. Optimizing pain control, minimizing narcotics, and ensuring adequate ambulation resources also contribute to decreased LOS.

Comparison of pH Levels of the Saliva before and after the Consumption of Cough Syrups in Children

Pediatric syrup formulations have been used for a long time in medicine. Cough syrups and other liquid medications are available easily and widely accepted by the children. The high intake of oral medications can be the causative factor for dental erosion and decay. Hence the aim of this study is to compare the efficacy in the pH levels of the saliva before and after the consumption of cough syrups. The study included 50 volunteer children. Children were recruited from the general medicine ward at Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals. Criteria for inclusion are candidates to be completely recovered within 5 days from upper respiratory tract infections such as common cold, cough and asthma. Children not recovering for more than 5 days and with other bacterial infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and other chronic respiratory ailments were excluded from the study. Prior to the study, its essence was explained to participants and their parents so that they could provide an informed consent. The collected data were analysed with IBM.SPSS statistics software version 23.0 (2009) to describe about the data descriptive statistics frequency analysis. To find the significant difference between the bivariate samples in Paired groups the Paired sample t-test was used. The pH levels before the consumption of cough syrups was found to be 7.09 and after consumption was 6.86 and the significant p value was calculated to be 0.0002 thus being statistically significant. The present study finds a significant drop in salivary pH level following the intake of cough syrup, which makes them a risk factor for the development of dental caries, and especially in childhood.

Solar bursts as can be observed from the lunar farside with a single antenna at very low frequencies

Earth-based observations are complicated by the opacity of Earth's ionosphere at very low frequencies and strong man-made radio frequency interference. This explains long standing interest in building a low frequency radio telescope on the farside of the Moon. Experience from ground-based observations near the ionospheric cutoff in dealing with the interference, ionosphere, and wide-field imaging/dynamic range problems provides crucial information for future radioastronomic experiments on the Moon. In this purpose we observed non-intensive solar bursts on the example of solar drift pairs (DP) at decameter-meter wavelengths with large and small arrays as well as by a single crossed active dipole. We used the large Ukrainian radio telescope UTR-2, the URAN-2 array, a subarray of the Giant Ukrainian radio telescope (GURT) and a single crossed active dipole to get the spectral properties of radio bursts at the frequency range of 8-80 MHz during solar observations on July 12, 2017. Statistical analysis of upper and lower frequencies, at which DPs are recorded, shows that the occurrence of forward DPs is more preferable at lower frequencies of the decameter range of observations in comparison with reverse DPs generated more likely at meter wavelengths. We conclude that DPs can be detected not only by antenna arrays, but even by a single crossed active dipole. Thus the latter antenna has a good potential for future low-frequency radio telescopes on the Moon.

Time variability of hydrodynamics and potential use of surface water and ocean topography mission in estuarine macrotidal system: example of Seine estuary

This work was supported by the National Center for Space Studies in the framework of the future mission surface water and ocean topography (SWOT). The estuarine zones with their complex hydrodynamics represent a great challenge for the future SWOT mission. The Seine estuary was selected by the SWOT Science Definition Team for the calibration/validation of the mission. Thus the aim of this study is to investigate the temporal hydrodynamic variability in the Seine estuary and the SWOT ability to reproduce this variability and hydrodynamic phenomena. For this, we used several statistical techniques and frequency analyses applied on the tide-gauge measurements of the Seine estuary and on SWOT simulated data. SWOT samples (SWOT simulated data) have been extracted synthetically from observations using the number of overpasses per repeat cycle [21 days (d)] in order to study the ability of SWOT to reproduce the time variability of the hydrodynamics. Results have demonstrated similar frequencies of multiyear, annual, and intraannual along the estuary from the Seine discharge to the Cherbourg sea level. The 11- to 22-d frequency has been only observed for estuarine and coastal time series suggesting the tide effect in these contexts. The distribution of levels has shown a high influence of tides and discharges at the downstream and the upstream, respectively. Low frequencies of water level are explained by the climate patterns of North Atlantic Oscillation with a mean range of 65%, whereas the high frequencies are associated to the periods of flooding and stormy events. Finally, simulated SWOT samples of water level show a better restitution of observations for high overpasses number. The results have shown a better restitution of hydrodynamic variability by SWOT in the river and upstream of estuary than in the downstream of estuary and coastal zone: in the estuary downstream and the coast, the annual mode is underexpressed while the 3-month (m) mode is overexpressed, which means the annual mode is underestimated and the 3-m mode is amplified by SWOT.

Physical and Anthropogenic Factors Related to Landslide Activity in the Northern Peloponnese, Greece

The geological, geomorphic conditions of a mountainous environment along with precipitation and human activities influence landslide occurrences. In many cases, their relation to landslide events is not well defined. The scope of the present study is to identify the influence of physical and anthropogenic factors in landslide activity. The study area is a mountainous part of the northern Peloponnesus in southern Greece. The existing landslides, lithology, slope angle, rainfall, two types of road network (highway-provincial roads and rural roads) along with land use of the study area are taken into consideration. Each physical and anthropogenic factor is further divided into sub-categories. Statistical analysis of landslide frequency and density, as well as frequency and density ratios, are applied and combined with a geographic information system (GIS) to evaluate the collected data and determine the relationship between physical and anthropogenic factors and landslide activity. The results prove that Plio-Pleistocene fine-grained sediments and flysch, relatively steep slopes (15°–30°) and a rise in the amount of rainfall increase landslide frequency and density. Additionally, Plio-Pleistocene fine-grained sediments and flysch, as well as schist chert formations, moderate (5°–15°) and relatively steep slopes (15°–30°), along with the amount of rainfall of &gt;700 mm are strongly associated with landslide occurrences. The frequency and magnitude of landslides increase in close proximity to roads. Their maximum values are observed within the 50 m buffer zone. This corresponds to a 100 m wide zone along with any type of road corridors, increasing landslide occurrences. In addition, a buffer zone of 75 m or 150 m wide zone along highway and provincial roads, as well as a buffer zone of 100 m or 200 m wide zones along rural roads, are strongly correlated with landslide events. The extensive cultivated land of the study area is strongly related to landslide activity. By contrast, urban areas are poorly related to landslides, because most of them are located in the northern coastal part of the study area where landslides are limited. The results provide information on physical and anthropogenic factors characterizing landslide events in the study area. The applied methodology rapidly estimates areas prone to landslides and it may be utilized for landslide hazard assessment mapping as well as for new and existing land use planning projects.

FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL MAXIMUM DAILY RAINFALL IN WADI ALAQIQ, SAUDI ARABIA

In arid regions the rainfall is highly variable temporally and spatially. Statistical frequency analyses help to extract design rainfall intensity for different return periods. Wadi Alaqiq catchment at Madinah region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is selected to estimate the frequency of the daily rainfall, where there are two rainfall stations (Madinah and BirMashi) with more than 40-year annual maximum daily rainfall magnitudes. Several probability distribution functions are tested through goodness-of-fit (GOF). Anderson-Darling (AD) test is applied to select the best statistical distribution and L-moments method is applied for parameters estimation. The generalized logistic and generalized extreme value PDFs are the best for this arid region data for both stations. The findings are useful for application of flood frequency analysis in arid region with similar conditions of hydrological systems. In the mean-time, the climate change effects have been explained through the innovative trend analysis.

Prevalence of Rheumatic Diseases in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Karachi.

Background:Rheumatic diseases are referred to as conditions affecting joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones. According to a report by World Health Organization, rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases were labeled as the second most reported cause of disability around the globe. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi; additionally, associations with age groups, gender and comorbidities were obtained as well.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Orthopedic Out Patient Department (OPD) of Dr. Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi over a span of three months in 2018 (February till May). All 346 patients were follow-up diagnosed cases in the age range of 11-90 years, divided into groups of adolescents, young adults, adults, and older adults. The subjects were questioned about their symptoms, duration of illness, presence of comorbidities, genetic background and the therapy they are undergoing along with compliance. Simple statistical analysis of frequency was done, whereas chi-square test was applied to study associations with gender, age groups, and comorbidities.Results:During the study period, a total of 2000 patients visited the orthopedic OPD, 346 of which were diagnosed cases of rheumatic diseases, yielding a prevalence of 17.3%. The mean age of rheumatic patients who partook in the study was 46.15 ± 15.49 (Range: 12 – 84). Osteoarthritis was recorded as the most prevalent condition, followed by non-specific low back pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis was statistically significant in young adults, adults, and older adults, while non-specific low back pain had significant associations with gender, young adults, and adults. Diabetes was significantly associated with osteoarthritis, non-specific low back pain, shoulder pain syndrome and psoriatic arthritis, while hypertension significantly co-existed with systemic lupus erthematosus.Conclusion:Rheumatic diseases constitute a major disease burden in almost all of the age groups, especially in young patients (18-40 years) within our setup.

Community Disaster Resilience: The Case of Typhoon Karen (Sarika) Affected Barangays in San Miguel, Bulacan

The study focuses on the Local Government Units (LGUs) and the community resiliency or preparedness response taken before and during the typhoon, and the activities undertaken in the aftermath of Typhoon Karen of the most affected barangays of San Miguel, Bulacan, namely: Poblacion, Salacot, and San Jose. Interviews and surveys were conducted in order to determine their actions before, during, and after the typhoon. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, while the quantitative data underwent statistical analysis of frequency, percentage, and multiple responses. Based on the findings, the municipal government and the three barangay governments were prepared and conducted the proper emergency responses in the case of Typhoon Karen. All the three barangays have their own information drive as its information system and systematic strategies of preparedness during and after the typhoon. This shows how important the role of the state is for any given community. In the disaster preparedness of the communities, results show that the communities have a high degree of self-awareness in terms of the ongoing situation. During disasters, survival mechanisms performed by the community were primarily to protect life, secure the minimal provision of food and other basic needs, and procure the safety of their residence and valuables. In the aftermath of the typhoon, most of the strategies done by the local people were less dependent on external assistance that hastened the process of going back to normal life after flooding had receded. The activities and programs of the LGUs in relation to the mitigation on the occurrence of floods tend to be insufficient to the needs of the majority. Protection of the people and ensuring their safety and survival have always been the role of every state.

Applying Systemic Approach to Develop Students’ Vocabulary

Systemic approach in teaching vocabulary involved aspects in learning vocabulary. The aims of this research were to observe (1) the extent to which Systemic Approach develops students’ vocabulary of the second semester of Makassar Islamic University; (2) the students’ perceptions on the application of Systemic Approach in vocabulary development. This research was carried out with second semester students of Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Makassar Islamic University. The research method was quasi-experimental design with pre-test, eight meetings for treatment, and post-test. Data were collected with 2 instruments: vocabulary test and questionnaire, then analyzed with statistical analysis of sample t-test and questionnaire frequency. The result of the research indicated that the p value of independent t-test comparing students’ score on post-test was p&lt;0.05. There was a significant difference between the students treated by systemic approach compared to those without systemic approach. The questionnaire analysis indicated that the students’ perceptions on the application of Systemic Approach were positive.

A Bivariate Frequency Analysis of Extreme Wave Heights and Periods Using a Copula Function in South Korea

Kim, Y.-T.; Park, J.-H.; Choi, B.-H.; Kim, D.H., and Kwon, H.-H., 2018. A Bivariate Frequency Analysis of Extreme Wave Heights and Periods Using a Copula Function in South Korea. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 566–570. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Sea storms are generally described by a set of variables such as wave height, wave period and wave direction, and these random variables are typically treated as independent of one another. Moreover, univariate wave frequency analysis has been applied to estimate design wave heights corresponding to various return levels (e.g. 20, 50 and 200-year) using significant wave heights under stationary conditions. However, it has been acknowledged that these variables are often correlated with each other, and such dependence structure needs to be considered in the estimation of extreme quantiles. More specifically, a joint estimation of quantiles for different combinations of these variables such as wave heights and wave periods is required to reliably assess optimal design of coastal (or offshore) structures. Over the last several decades, accelerated sea level rise (SLR) and its impact on coastal areas have been reported in many parts of the world. Estimation of extreme quantiles of SLR as a nonstationary process play a crucial role in assessing these impacts. In these contexts, a multivariate frequency model using a copula function approach is introduced to describe sea storm risk, which is mainly characterized by wave heights and periods. The proposed multivariate frequency analysis offers several advantages over widely used univariate stationary frequency analysis including uncertainty estimation, improved representation of inter-dependency and significant improvement of compound risk estimation.

Non-Stationary Frequency Analysis of Future Extreme Rainfall using CMIP5 GCMs over the Korean Peninsula

In this study, we performed stationary and non-stationary frequency analysis of daily rainfall extreme series based on climate change scenarios by CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase5) 8 GCMs (General Circulation Models). We extracted the annual maximum daily rainfall and it was conducted tendency test for the abnormality verification. The data consisted of 30 sets according to 30 years in units and sequential to year and to derive each set rank, the number of rainfall occurrences over 80 mm and the summer rainfall were calculated. For the stationary and non-stationary frequency analysis, Gumbel distribution was adopted and average precipitation, location and scale parameters were calculated for each set. As a result of the analysis, it is considered that the stationary frequency analysis in RCP 4.5 and the non-stationary frequency analysis in RCP 8.5 are valid, and it is expected that various scenarios will be reviewed in the near future. The results of this study are expected to be useful for the future climate change policies. Keywords: CMIP5, GCMs, Gumbel, Non-stationary Frequency Analysis, Probability Precipitation

Intercomparison of CALIOP, MODIS, and AERONET aerosol optical depth over China during the past decade

ABSTRACTAerosol optical depth (AOD) data from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) were intercompared and validated against ground-based measurements from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) as well as space-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) over China during June 2006 to December 2015. This article aims to evaluate CALIOP daytime AOD using MODIS and AERONET AODs. Comparing the AOD between CALIOP and AERONET in different regions over China using quality control flags to screen the AOD data, we find that CALIOP AOD is generally lower than AERONET AOD especially at optical depths over 0.4 likely due to differences in the cloud screening algorithms and general retrieval uncertainty. Comparison between CALIOP AOD and MODIS AOD results show that the overall spatio-temporal distribution of CALIOP AOD and MODIS AOD is basically consistent. As for the spatial distribution, both data sets show several high-value regions and low-value regions in China. CALIOP is systematically lower than MODIS over China, especially over high AOD value regions for all seasons. As for the temporal variation, both data sets show a significant seasonal variation: AOD is largest in spring, then less in summer, and smallest in winter and autumn. A long-term linear trend analysis based on the domain averaged monthly mean CALIOP and MODIS AOD shows agreement among CALIOP and MODIS for the trends over the 10-year period in four regions examined. The trends in AOD derived from CALIOP and MODIS indicate a decline in aerosol loading in China since 2006. It is found from frequency comparison that CALIOP and MODIS AOD generally exhibit a degree of correlation over China. Statistical frequency analysis shows that CALIOP AOD frequency distribution shows a higher peak than MODIS AOD when AOD < 0.4. For the most part, mean MODIS AOD is higher than mean CALIOP AOD. Evaluation of CALIOP AOD retrievals provides the prospect for application of CALIOP data. The intercomparison suggests that CALIOP has systematically underestimated daytime AOD retrievals, especially deteriorating with increasing AOD, and therefore, CALIOP daytime AOD retrievals should be treated with some degree of caution when the AOD is over 0.4.

Effect of the Non-Stationarity of Rainfall Events on the Design of Hydraulic Structures for Runoff Management and Its Applications to a Case Study at Gordo Creek Watershed in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

The 24-h maximum rainfall (P24h-max) observations recorded at the synoptic weather station of Rafael Núñez airport (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia) were analyzed, and a linear increasing trend over time was identified. It was also noticed that the occurrence of the rainfall value (over the years of record) for a return period of 10 years under stationary conditions (148.1 mm) increased, which evidences a change in rainfall patterns. In these cases, the typical stationary frequency analysis is unable to capture such a change. So, in order to further evaluate rainfall observations, frequency analyses of P24h-max for stationary and non-stationary conditions were carried out (by using the generalized extreme value distribution). The goodness-of-fit test of Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), with values of 753.3721 and 747.5103 for stationary and non-stationary conditions respectively, showed that the latter best depicts the increasing rainfall pattern. Values of rainfall were later estimated for different return periods (2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years) to quantify the increase (non-stationary versus stationary condition), which ranged 6% to 12% for return periods from 5 years to 100 years, and 44% for a 2-year return period. The effect of these findings were tested in the Gordo creek watershed by first calculating the resulting direct surface runoff (DSR) for various return periods, and then modeling the hydraulic behavior of the downstream area (composed of a 178.5-m creek’s reach and an existing box-culvert located at the watershed outlet) that undergoes flooding events every year. The resulting DSR increase oscillated between 8% and 19% for return periods from 5 to 100 years, and 77% for a 2-year return period when the non-stationary and stationary scenarios were compared. The results of this study shed light upon to the precautions that designers should take when selecting a design, based upon rainfall observed, as it may result in an underestimation of both the direct surface runoff and the size of the hydraulic structures for runoff and flood management throughout the city.

The investigation of miR-196a2 rs11614913 with breast cancer susceptibility in south of IRAN

BackgroundRecent research has revealed the substantial role of MicroRNAs as a hallmark of some diseases such as cancer. These molecules belong to a unique category of endogenous, small non-coding RNAs which can have an effect on regulating gene expression by degrading mRNAs or suppressing translation. They play an important role as regulators of tumor suppressors and oncogenes in pathological processes. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) which is located in the miRNAcoding genes may contribute to the process of the development of various cancers, including breast cancer. This process occurs by altering the expression of mature miRNA. Former studies have observed the association of miRNA SNPs with susceptibility to breast cancer. ObjectiveOur study evaluated the effect of miR196-a2 polymorphism (rs11614913) on patients suffering from breast cancer in south of Iran. Methods and resultsIn this research, the hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 SNP was examined in 200 Iranian women including 100 patients suffering from breast cancer and 100 healthy women. The SNP was determined by RFLP-PCR. The X2 or Fisher's exact test was used to compare the control and the experimental groups. Statistical analysis of SNPs frequencies showed no significant difference among the patients and the control group regarding the distribution of genotype (P = 0.831). ConclusionsThis study's results indicated that the TT polymorphic genotype in hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 SNP was not related to breast cancer risk among Southern Iranian patients.

Polymorphism study of nine SNPs associated with subjective response to alcohol in Chinese Han, Hui, Tibetan, Mongolian and Uygur populations

ABSTRACTHeavy alcohol drinking is a major public health problem, causing a large disease, social and economic burden in societies. Subjective response (SR) to alcohol is an intermediate characteristic of heavy drinking. A variety of candidate genes have been reported to be associated with SR to alcohol. In this study, we investigated nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to SR to alcohol in healthy individuals from five Chinese ethnic groups, the Han, Hui, Tibetan, Mongolian and Uygur populations, and a total of 584 bloodstain samples were collected. The nine SNPs included four SNPs in alcohol-metabolizing genes (ADH1B, ADH1C, ALDH2 and CYP2E1*5B) and five SNPs in genes of neurobiological pathways (GABRA2, OPRM1, CHRNA3, HYKK and SLC6A4). A SNaPshot analysis method was developed to type these SNPs simultaneously, and all samples were typed successfully. Statistical analyses of the allele frequencies indicated that the frequencies of all SNPs, except for ADH1C, showed varying degrees of difference in the five studied ethnic groups. Tibetans showed the highest frequencies of risk alleles for heavy drinking at most loci. The genetic polymorphic differences found in this study revealed the variation in genetic susceptibility to heavy drinking in the studied populations.